UNIVERSITY of TARTU Faculty of Social Sciences Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies
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UNIVERSITY OF TARTU Faculty of Social Sciences Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies Master Thesis Fabrício Rangel de Oliveira The Twelfth Player: How FIFA challenges host states’ sovereignty The case of the 2014 Brazil World Cup Advisor: Andrey Makarychev, PhD Tartu 2017 I have written this Master's thesis independently. All viewpoints of other authors, literary sources and data from elsewhere used for writing this paper have been referenced. ______________________________________ I, Fabrício Rangel de Oliveira (39009220059), herewith grant the University of Tartu a free permit (non-exclusive licence) to: The Twelfth Player: How FIFA challenges host states’ sovereignty. The case of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, supervised by Andrey Makarychev, PhD. 1. To reproduce, for the purpose of preservation and making available to the public, including for addition to the DSpace digital archives until expiry of the term of validity of the copyright. 2. To make available to the public via the web environment of the University of Tartu, including via the DSpace digital archives until expiry of the term of validity of the copyright. 3. I am aware that the rights stated in point 1 also remain with the author. 4. I confirm that granting the non-exclusive licence does not infringe the intellectual property rights or rights arising from the Personal Data Protection Act. Tartu, 22/05/2017 __________________________ To Tia Toninha, in memoriam Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the unconditional support and love of my parents, brother and friends. Soon, we shall be reunited. I would like to thank Professor Andrey Makarychev for the guidance during the elaboration of this thesis. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies Staff and all the fellow students I have met for making my staying in Estonia a remarkable academic and social experience "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." Bill Shankly Table of Contents Abstract 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………….1 1.1. Theme ………………………………………………………………………….1 1.2. Research problem ……………………………………………………………...2 2. Methodology ……………………………………………………………………3 2.1. Research design and methods …………………………………………...…….3 2.2. Empirical data and sources ……………………………………………………4 3. Literature review ……………………………………………………....……….4 3.1. Theoretical framework ………………………………………………………...4 3.1.1. The pluralist perspective in International Relations………………………..4 3.1.2. A society of spectacle ……………………………………………………...7 3.1.3. State of exception ………………………………………………………….8 3.2. Sports and International Relations …………………………………………….9 3.2.1. The study and the political use of sport.....................................................9 3.2.2. Football: more than just a game …………………………………...…….12 3.3. Power …………………………………………………………………………16 3.3.1 What does it mean to have power? ……………………………………...16 3.3.2 Soft Power ………………………………………………………………18 3.4. Sovereignty: a multi-layer concept …………………………………………...20 3.5. Non-state actors …………………………………………………………….....24 3.5.1. Old players, new functions ……………………………………………....24 3.5.2. Global sports organizations……………………………………….............25 3.6. FIFA …………………………………………………………………………..27 3.6.1. The twelfth player: what is FIFA? ……………………………………....27 3.6.2. Historical development ………………………………………………….29 3.6.3. FIFA’s gem: The World Cup of Football ……………………………….32 3.6.4. Where does FIFA’s power come from? ………………………………....33 3.7. Sports mega events …………………………………………………………....36 3.7.1. Why countries want to become hosts? …………………………………..36 3.7.2. How mega events control host countries? ……………………………….40 4. Case Analysis …………………………………………………………………42 4.1. The 2014 Brazil World Cup ………………………………………………….42 4.2. FIFA’s hosting agreement: enabling the state of exception ………………….45 4.3.The transposition of the hosting agreement: how FIFA challenged Brazil’s sovereignty ………………………………………………………………………..46 4.3.1. The General World Cup law ……………………………………………48 4.4. Social and political impacts of the 2014 World Cup ………………………...54 5. Concluding remarks ………………………………………………………….66 6. References …………………………………………………………………….70 List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Three-period socio-historical model - 14 Table 2: Football in the three-period model - 15 Table 3: Public expenditure in the 2014 World Cup - 44 Table 4: Hosting agreement’s guarantees - 45 Figure 1: Restricted commercial area around Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro - 51 List of abbreviations ANCOP National Articulation of the World Cup Popular Committees FIFA Fédération Internationale de Football Association IOC International Olympic Committee LGC General World Cup Law Abstract THE TWELFTH PLAYER: HOW FIFA CHALLENGES HOST STATES’ SOVEREIGNTY. THE CASE OF THE 2014 BRAZIL WORLD CUP Fabrício Rangel de Oliveira International relations involve a comprehensive number of actors beyond the scope of states. Considering such multiplicity, this research focuses on a particular non- governmental organization, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association – FIFA. The choice is justified by the relevance of less-traditional issues for the understanding of International Relations - here represented by sports and football particularly - and the political and economic power yield by FIFA during a football mega event. In the bargaining process between host countries and global sport organizations, the former are, often, required to change domestic regulations that range from urban infrastructure to national legal frameworks. Such requests can be highly questioned in terms of their objectivity and necessity. By examining the suspensions and modifications regarding the Brazilian legislation during the 2014 World Cup and the related social and political impacts, this research investigates how FIFA can influence host countries and if such dynamics, ultimately, correspond to interference to the state’s sovereignty. Key words: Non-state actors, institutions, sports mega events, sports organizations, FIFA, Brazil, 2014 World Cup, legislative production 1 1. Introduction 1.1. Theme It is difficult to refute the relevance of states in the modern international system. The concept of a state as a sovereign unity – and its related features such as jurisdiction or the principle of equality – was brought up by the Westphalian Treaties (1648). Since then, it has been a central issue in international politics. States remain as the actors legally able to input taxes, assemble armies or grant nationality. In other words, it is within state borders that events take place in International Relations. Nevertheless, at the same time, it is difficult to refute that interactions between state and non-state actors or among non-state actors have increased in relevance throughout the 20th century, particularly, in the post-Cold War era. Agents such as terrorist organizations; credit rating agencies; multinational corporations; private military contractors, non- governmental and inter-governmental organizations and themes such as globalization or international norms and regimes ought to be taken into account for an accurate international politics calculus, hence, requiring the broadening of the traditional state approach in International Relations. In this sense, what is now witnessed in the international arena can be best described not as the decrease of importance of the state (or its substitution) but rather the diffusion of power among other actors and the further consideration of diverse themes. For a long period, interpreting International Relations through the prism of sports has not been part of the mainstream academia. As governments have long demonstrated their interest in the realm of sports, this can be seen as contradictory. Nevertheless, this is already a changed scenario as more scholars research the impacts of sports’ political, social, cultural and economic dimensions in international politics. Football, particularly, has a mobilizing capacity broader than any other modality. For different reasons, it can be directly connected to, not only, multiple aspects of daily life activities but also to “higher” aspects in the hierarchy of International Politics. 2 FIFA is a singular expression of the relevance of football in a global level. Not only, but distinctively, during mega events such as the World Cup, FIFA, as the private entity governing football, attempts to leverage on its resources, its claims of legal autonomy and on the political nuances of football to impose significant tangible and intangible changes in states hosting football mega events. In the world of football, supporters are commonly referred to as the twelfth player. Perhaps FIFA should also be considered for such label. 1.2. Research problem Considering the argument on power diffusion and on the multiplicity of themes relevant for international politics, this research examines the Federation International Football Association – FIFA – as a particularly important non-state actor. The sport organization is linked to a particular context that has been gaining more momentum in the globalization era in which multimedia systems, leisure, economy and politics are highly interdependent: mega events. The FIFA World Cup of Football is one the most distinguished mega events in contemporary World and it will be examined here through a case study of the 2014 Brazilian Tournament. The study focuses on legislative arrangements exceptionally